"Song of the Sea" - Tomm Moore

Tomm Moore, the director of the recently released animated feature film "The Secret of Kells" , is at work on a new film called ""Song of the Sea" .

On his production blog Tomm Moore mentioned that they are using TVP Animation to animate the film paperlessly.

Here's the first teaser trailer:

"Elemental Magic" hand-drawn effects by Joseph Gilland

See ? I said in my previous post that we're experiencing an embarrassment of riches in the amount of quality animation material being published these days : yet another great, must have book coming soon .

Elemental Magic: The Classical Art of Hand-Drawn Special Effects Animation by Joe Gilland

Michel Gagné (himself one of the top special effects animators in the world) gives the book a glowing review on his website:

Michel Gagné review of Joe Gilland's "Elemental Magic"

Create stunning animated effects such as fiery blazes, rippling water, and magical transformations either hand-drawn or digitally. Animation veteran Joseph Gilland breaks down the world of special effects animation with clear step-by-step diagrams and explanations on how to create the amazing and compelling images you see on the big screen. The author covers the tradtional hand-drawn technique while showing you how to apply the philosophy, theory, and techniques to your digital animation projects as well.


(image from Elemental Magic , Copyright © by Joseph Gilland)

Apply the theory behind effects animation to your traditional and digital animation projects.
Written by animated effects guru, Joseph Gilland, who has worked on such feature films as Lilo & Stitch,
Brother Bear, Pochahontas, Tarzan, and Mulan.

Publication Date: March 06, 2009


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By the way, this is a good time to mention again that The Academy of Art Online offers a fantastic course in traditional special effects animation, ANM 261 Introduction to Effects Animation, written and taught by Kathleen Quaife who is also one of the top traditional effects animators in the industry. (and I have it on good authority that Kathleen is also putting the finishing touches on her own book about Special Effects Animation ! The more the better ; in character animation we have both the Richard Williams book and Eric Goldberg's book , along with Frank & Ollie's "bible" The Illusion of Life, Tony White's books, and of course good old Preston Blair ... now after many years the effects animators are filling a much needed niche )

"Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" by Walt Stanchfield

It seems there is a plethora of animation riches being published these days.

Another set of books to add to your MUST HAVE list is "Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Walt Stanchfield , edited by Don Hahn.

Go to Don Hahn's website to see a "trailer" for the book where Don speaks about the material contained in these two volumes:

http://www.donhahn.com/

These weekly handouts from Walt Stanchfield are something that those of us who worked at Disney in the 80's and 90's treasure. Now they are being shared with the whole world . (actually they've been "shared" quite a bit by being copied, scanned , and passed around from hand to hand or from website to website , but this is the first time that ALL of Walt's notes have been formally compiled into two handy volumes . 800 pages of material ! )

The press release from Don Hahn says:

"I am so pleased to announce that for the first time ever, we have assembled all of Walt Stanchfield’s amazing handout notes and lectures into a two volume collection titled, DRAWN TO LIFE - 20 GOLDEN YEARS OF DISNEY MASTER CLASSES. Walt was an animator, trainer, mentor and coach for decades at Disney and helped breathe life into the new golden age of animation with his teachings. He influenced such talented artists as Tim Burton, Brad Bird, John Musker, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja and John Lasseter.

To me, DRAWN TO LIFE is one the strongest primers on animation ever written. The material spares no detail on the craft of animation, but also digs deep into the artistic roots of animation. It is a publication that has been anticipated for many years by every artist and student that Walt ever came in contact with. It has been a labor of love for me and I am so proud that Walt’s teachings will live on in these two volumes."

Pre-orders are being taken now. Official publishing date is March 27.



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"On Timing" talk by Dick Huemer , Disney animator

Hans Perk has pulled another magical relic from animation's past out of his magic hat:

A c.1936 lecture given at the Disney Studio by animator Dick Huemer on Timing. Read it here ---

Dick Huemer lecture on Timing .

This stuff is gold. Read it . Then read it again. Apply. Repeat.

Actually I need to correct myself : I said it was a "relic" from animation's past, but that gives the impression that it's just a piece of history ... but as Hans Perk points out :

"I feel I need to point out that the things discussed here still hold true today, also in computer animation. A principle is a principle, whatever the medium. If we do not learn about the successes and failures of yesterday, how can we be sure we make the right decisions today? Don't mistake these documents for "funny old stuff." If you are employed in the animation business, know that they are part of the groundwork of what pays your salary today!"

This is the real stuff , friends. While you're there make sure you bookmark Hans' blog A-Film L.A. and check out the other Disney lectures and material he has posted on his blog.

Two relevant documents which relate to the Dick Huemer talk on Timing are the scene drafts for the short films "Mickey's Polo Game" and "Alpine Climbers" :

Mickey's Polo Game scene draft

Alpine Climbers scene draft

A scene draft was (is) a studio document prepared to show which animator was assigned to what scenes and the scene
lengths in terms of scene length footage (35mm motion picture footage) . A draft is made for each short or feature film .

Mickey Mouse - Mickey'S Polo Team
Uploaded by Lupus-novus

"It's the Cat" by Mark Kausler

**NOTE: this film is unfortunately no longer available for download from the MyToons website as MyToons abruptly shut down recently.

The full pencil test of "It's the Cat" is still posted on Mark Kausler's site, so be sure to check that out .  Hopefully Mark will find a new home on the web for "It's the Cat" soon.






Good news , cartoon lovers : Mark Kausler's great short cartoon "It's The Cat" is once again available for download online on MyToons. (it was available on Cartoon Brew's short-lived "Cartoon Brew Films" last year , but now Cartoon Brew Films is no more.)

This film was a labor of love for Mark and his producer Greg Ford. It's all hand-drawn, hand-inked and painted on cels (that's right cels , not digital ink & paint) .

They're making another one called "There Must Be Another Cat" which Mark tells me is finished in pencil test, but is still being inked and painted as funds become available .

Help support independent animators like Mark Kausler and buy "It's the Cat" on Mark's MyToons page for the mere pittance of $1.99.   (as of 4/7/09 - NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE due to the abrupt shutdown of MyToons. )

Here's a short preview of the title sequence:



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UPDATE: Mark Kausler has posted a very illuminating answer to a question about how he approached animating to the music on his film "It's The Cat" . Check it out:

Mark Kausler on Animating to Music .



All images from "It's The Cat" copyright ©Mark Kausler.

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UPDATE #2 : Mark has posted the complete pencil test for "It's the Cat" on his site: It's the Cat Pencil Test --Click HERE --

I love watching pencil test animation . It's fun to compare the rough version to the finished film. View the pencil test and then buy the film on MyToons (only $1.99) .

Mark is also selling the original , one-of-a-kind hand inked & painted CELS from the film. These are not the fake "gallery cels" that many places sell to collectors , these are the actual production cels that passed under the camera and are on screen when viewing the film. If you buy a cel you also get the original pencil drawing and he's throwing in a DVD of the film with each purchase : It's the Cat - Original Hand-Inked Cels -- Click HERE --

"Dear Anna Olson" by Dean Kalman Lennert

"Dear Anna Olson" is a hand-drawn animated film being made by Dean Kalman Lennert .

Check out the links to Dean's site for more info. about how he's making this independent 15-minute short film and to see screen grabs and clips.

Here are a couple of things about the film posted on YouTube :






A few quotes from people who have seen the work in progress:

"There are typical animated films and then there are animated films that help define exactly what sets this medium apart from live-action film.

Dean Lennert's 'DEAR ANNA OLSON' is one such film, which upon completion, is sure to remind all about the elegance and power of hand-drawn animation when it is in the hands of a modern master such as Lennert."
-David B. Levy , Animation Director and Author of "Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive"

"Dean Lennert's subtle animation and narrative skills are on full display in 'DEAR ANNA OLSON' . This sensitive and emotional story, skillfully told through detailed and expressive moving drawings, is a work-in-progress deserving of your support"
-John Canemaker,   Academy Award winning animator/director and author of many
influential books on animation history.

This looks like a film worth keeping an eye on. 

The Art of Storyboarding

With your host, Eric Goldberg :

"Coyote & The Tortoise" by Fat Cat Animation

**NOTE: this film is unfortunately no longer available for download from the MyToons website as MyToons abruptly shut down recently.

Short film from Fat Cat Animation in Phoenix, Arizona. Directed by Len Simon.

"Anniversary" by Ghostbot Studio

The Ghostbot Studio (you've seen their ads for E-surance) has released a short film called "Anniversary" . Only 1 minute , but shows what you can do to economically tell a short story in a minute.

Embedded player should work ok in Firefox. Doesn't seem to be working in Safari for some reason. If the embedded player below does not work , try this direct link:

http://www.cartoonmojo.com/view_video.php?viewkey=20d2abefe558796b9958

Audi Animated spot - Passion Pictures

Audi spot animated at Passion Pictures, London.

Willard Mullin - Animated Line-of-Action

Sherm Cohen has posted a series of links to various pieces by the great sports cartoonist Willard Mullin on his Cartoon Snap! blog.

This reminded me of  some scans I have of Mullin's work which have always seemed to me to indicate that had he wanted to Willard Mullin could have been a great animator.

These are excellent to study for cartooning in general, but animation in particular. This is what I'm always harping on when I tell my students to "push the pose , push the line-of-action"  in animation. 

(click on the images to see them larger)

Mark Chong's TEN-MINUTE DRAWING TUTORIALS

One of the amazing artists I've met through the TVPaint User Forum is Toronto-based conceptual artist and teacher , Mark Chong. Mark has a real passion for teaching (specifically teaching Online , utilizing video tutorials) and I am very happy that he is now teaching for the Academy of Art Animation Dept. Online. (he's also going to be building a new course on visual development and concept art , ANM 475 - Inspirational Art for Animation . During the Spring '09 semester at AAU Mark will be teaching ANM 611 Visual Elements of Story and ANM 633 Character Design and Drawing for Animators online.

Mark has generously posted some wonderful FREE tutorials on his blog TEN-MINUTE DRAWING TECHNIQUES (but if you benefit from Mark's tutorials then drop a few dollars in his tip jar now and then, folks !)

Click on the link to go to view the tutorials.

Here's a sample of Mark's work (drawn in TVP Animation) :

R.O. Blechman's "Simple Gifts" - Prologue

Prologue to R.O. Blechman's animated television special "Simple Gifts" . This prologue piece is designed by Maurice Sendak, animated by Ed Smith , with watercolor by Sara Calogero. Music by Arnold Black. The entire special was directed by R.O. Blechman. The quality on this clip is not the greatest since it is from an old VHS tape recording of the show. As far as I know PBS has not aired this again in recent times. It's a beautiful Christmas special that really should be released on DVD.

Richard O'Connor has posted an original drawing from this sequence on his blog :

Original Art from "Simple Gifts" click HERE

O'Connor relates this about animator Ed Smith:

Once I asked Ed Smith (who animates in ink) what he does when he makes a mistake.

His response: "I'll let you know when that happens."

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Tateh's Flipbook, from Milos Forman's "Ragtime"

Sergio Pablos "Dr. Doppler" Pencil Tests

Some wonderful animation by master animator Sergio Pablos of the character "Dr. Doppler" from Disney's "Treasure Planet".

(See the interview with Sergio on The Character Design Blog .)







Here are some of the same scenes , but in different form (note that one of the scenes is in much rougher form , so it's interesting to see how he roughed it out first , then tied it down more at a later point) .

A Forum for Classical Hand-Drawn Animation

Animator Chris Doyle has started a new forum for the discussion of classical hand-drawn animation:

Classical Hand-Drawn Animation

Check it out.  Jump in and participate in the discussion. 

In one discussion related to the post down below about  "A Day for Hand-Drawn Animation" celebration in Turkey,  animator Tahsin Özgür makes a very good distinction about the place of hand-drawn animation:

"Today is Nov. 21st, three days already since the Hand Drawn Animation Day held at Maltepe University in Istanbul.

We called it,  in our quaint Oriental tongue,  Çizgi Film Bayrami, which clumsily translates as "Line-Film Holiday" or something ... "Line-Film" being what we call this kind of film. English lacks a direct equivalent, and the more generic term "animation" might have even facilitated the CG takeover ("it's all animation, isn't it?") 

Think of our concept of "line film" as closer to the French "dessin animé" ("animated drawing") -  it's French, language of culture, so it probably has more weight in the argument. Which argument?  Why, that hand drawn animation is a distinct art form, and not simply a step on the way towards something else. "

That is a good distinction and I wish the English language had such a term as "Line-Film"  or  "le dessin anime" to denote animated drawings.

I usually try to make the distinction by using the terms "traditional animation" or "classical animation" , or "hand-drawn animation". The one term I do not care for as much , but seems ubiquitous now is "2D Animation" . Animation can be completely CG , but also be 2D (such as vector-based animation in Flash or ToonBoom) .   For better or worse the Academy of Art University has designated our department as the "2D Animation Dept." , so that's the term I have to work with for now.  (hence, I am the Online Coordinator of 2D Animation at AAU ).

But what we're really talking about here is animation that is expressed through drawing.  That's not at all to disparage CG animation or Stop Motion puppet animation, etc.   However,  the ascendancy of CG animation has unfortunately led to the widely held  perception that Tash mentions:   that hand drawn animation is "simply a step on the way towards something else" rather than being a distinct art form in and of itself. 

Milt Kahl scene -- where does it come from ?

A small mystery :

I found this Milt Kahl scene from "The Rescuer's" posted on YouTube.  My question in the title -- "where does it come from?" -- doesn't refer to the film ; I know it's from "The Rescuer's".

But as far as I can see this shot is not in the final version of the film, but it feels to me like I remember seeing it  (in color) in the original theatrical release of the film.  But this scene is NOT in the DVD release of the film.  Was it cut out for some reason or is my memory playing a trick on me and this shot was never actually in the theatrical version of the film ? 

Does anyone know when or why this scene was cut out of  "The Rescuer's"  ? 

(there's no sound in the clip posted on YouTube. What are they saying ? Anyone know ? )

Here is another very similar set up , from the work-print of the sequence included on the extras of the Frank & Ollie documentary. This scene is in the final film .



(does anyone else see the one-frame camera shooting mistake on Medusa's hand at the very end of the scene ? That was fixed before the scene went to final color.)

A Day For Hand Drawn Animation

*UPDATE:  Jeff Treves dropped by and left this comment below:

 "The festival was great! We are trying to make it even bigger for the next year. Here are some photos for those who are interested. " --

A Day For Hand-Drawn Animation Festival Photos

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I enjoyed seeing the photos.  Jeff and some others may enjoy seeing this photo of Tahsin Özgür taken at Sheridan College in 1982 .  (not that long ago , right , Tash ?) 

(click the photo to see it larger)

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"As in previous years we at Anadolu University and Maltepe University are observing Nov. 18th, anniversary of the release of Steamboat Willie, as a day to celebrate traditional hand-drawn animation.  

This year our special theme will be Frank and Ollie, since Ollie Johnston passed away since our last celebration. Please join us in our celebration."

-Tahsin ("Tash") and Lale Özgür

My friend Tashin Özgür has reminded me that he and his wife Lale have started a tradition at Anadolu University and Maltepe University to observe November 18th (anniversary of the release of Steamboat Willie) as a day to specifically celebrate traditional hand-drawn animation. An excellent idea and one that I heartily endorse . Hopefully this will become an international movement among all who cherish the art of hand-drawn animation.

If you can't sit down to re-read "The Illusion of Life" this week, at least put in the DVD of the movie "Frank & Ollie" .
(but if you haven't read "The Illusion of Life" lately, make a point to pick it up again. I guarantee you that you'll find something new and exciting that you missed before ... at least that's how I have found it each time I've returned to this foundational tome).

(click on the image to see it larger)